The Head Of SOCOM Is Concerned About Growing Tensions In The Arctic

Joseph L. Votel salutes during a change-of-command ceremony in Tampa, Fla., Aug. 28, 2014. Votel then assumed command of U.S. Special Operations Command from Navy Adm. William H. McRaven.US Department of Defense
U.S. Special Operations Command leader Army Gen. Joseph L. Votel will travel to Norway within the next few weeks to discuss with his Nordic special operations forces counterparts growing tensions in the Arctic region, he said Jan. 27.

"Our Norwegian partners are paying particularly close attention to this and our SOF commanders in the region and I are going to go spend some time with them [Norwegian military officers] to understand what they are doing and how we can potentially assist in that," he said at the National Defense Industrial Association's Special Operations/Low Intensity Conflict symposium in Washington, D.C.

The primary concern is Russia and its growing activities in the region, he said.

"We don't know what we don't know, so it is important for us to engage and understand what is happening out there and understand the spaces in which they can begin to assert some of their influence.

"I consider this to be a current and a future challenge for us," he added.

Votel said the harsh Arctic environment would pose a challenge for special operators, but that the command over the past 14 years of operations in desert-like climates hasn't totally abandoned other areas of operations. Industry together with the command could ramp up the production of equipment needed to conduct missions there relatively quickly, he said.

"This is something we could deal with ... We do continue to focus on [other] environments," he said.

Another major cause for concern is the expansion of the Islamic State into regions outside the terrorist group's traditional territory in Syria and Iraq, he said.

"I think we have to watch this organization very closely. ... we are seeing the expansion of ISIL in North Africa. We need to be prepared to deal with them where they are," he said.

ISIL has attracted over 19,000 foreign fighters from 90 different countries to fight in Syria and Iraq, a number he called "staggering." SOCOM is playing a leading role in pulling together military efforts within the United States and overseas to fight ISIL, he added.

SOCOM is also seeing a "growing nexus" between terrorist organizations and transnational criminal organizations, he said. "The ability of criminal organizations to move money, people and weapons is very attractive to violent extremists. We don't fully understand or appreciate completely how these different networks interact wittingly or unwittingly, but the more they cooperate, the greater the threat."

Partnering with law enforcement agencies will be critical to countering this nexus, he added.

Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram is a destabilizing threat to West and Central Africa, he added. "It is creating fertile ground for expansion into other areas," he said.

"Our ability to see and understand is an important requirement for all our operations and as a result airborne ISR remains one of our chief concerns," he said. SOCOM will continue to invest in these technologies and collaborate with industry, he said.